DOWN UNDER XXXPEDITION, Part 5
The Last Leg of the Australian Adventure

Text and Photos by Sven and Magdalena Schlogl

We had left the vast, remote lands of the west and centre behind us; upon reaching the east coast, we would travel through the most populated areas of Australia. More than two thirds of the twenty million people live along the eastern shoreline. It's a huge country, though, and we still had plenty of wilderness to explore. So we started to zig-zag south for more adventures.

We passed many little towns sporting interesting colonial architecture and stayed just long enough to grab a cappuccino before pushing on into the dense forests surrounding them. Lush vegetation and dramatic waterfalls abounded. The east coast invites to be explored but since we had hit the winter months we rarely went swimming due to the cool water temperatures. Many lovely beaches beckoned to us and we enjoyed them over hour-long walks.

We had saved an exciting highlight of this trip for the last leg: Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. Famous for its incredible beauty and phenomenal beach driving, this national park is a jewel for nature lovers and four-wheelers alike. Since the National Park Service limits the number of visitors, the experience is unspoiled. A four-wheel drive is required just to get to the ferry which leaves from a sandy beach. Once we had reached the island, we disengaged our 4x4 as the beaches on the eastern coast are hard packed. In fact, they are designated highways with the usual road rules. Inland routes are very different and many a vehicle has gotten stuck in the soft sand. Caution is advised as to not get caught by the high tide and we referred to our tide tables regularly. Secluded campsites are spread all over the island and provide for an incredible camping experience right on the gorgeous beaches. Inland the eucalyptus forests are dense and every once in a while we stumbled upon a crystal clear lake with brilliantly white beaches. Fraser even sports its own wreck with an interesting history! We didn't find it hard to get away from other visitors and spent an entire week exploring this magnificent spot.

In Rockhampton, a small town close to the coast, we gave an interview with ABC radio. Just after it aired, a local stopped us to chat; he had heard about us on the radio and was curious to get the whole story.
Following the lovely coastline, we eventually reached Brisbane where, once again, we enjoyed the amenities and style of one of the biggest cities in Australia. Through ausjeepoffroad.com, an Australian-wide forum, we hooked up with the Sunshine Coast Jeep Club who arranged a trip to nearby Landcruiser Mountain Off-Road Park for a weekend of four-wheel fun. The private area offers tracks for every level but due to a long drought all mudholes and river crossings had disappeared. Seemingly endless hills, gorges and forests mark the landscape and an abundance of trails snake through them, looping around in an interesting network with varying degrees of challenges. Our group of nine rigs followed trail leader Dave and we explored all kinds of terrains. The excitement of the weekend was when Dave almost rolled his TJ but luckily reacted fast to avoid the mishap.

Never tired of four-wheeling, we met up with some locals in the Coffs Coast area just a few days later. The Great Dividing Range reaches all the way to the ocean in this area and provides for some truly dramatic scenery. The trails were not extremely technical but very steep with loose dirt and lots of ruts and wash-outs. Most of them rewarded us with breathtaking views of the coastline. Good articulation and lockers were key to a safe ascent. Over this weekend, some local off-roaders and the Coffs Coast Jeepers proudly showed us what challenges and fun rides this beautiful neck of the woods had to offer.

We were now getting close to Sydney and decided on a detour to visit the impressive Outback one more time. We turned west and drove through lush forest further inland. This area is famous for its deep gorges and waterfalls. Wallaman Falls tumble into a 60 foot deep pool over a rock wall of over 800 feet and are the highest free-flowing falls in the southern hemisphere. Gradually, the vegetation changed from trees to bushes until we saw grass only sporadically. We were bound for Broken Hill, an isolated mining town sometimes called the "Gateway to the Outback". On our way, we found several remote campsites away from it all. One night, during an evening stroll through the quiet desert, we decided that this was not a good place to get stuck. Murphy did NOT sleep and the next morning our Jeep wouldn't start. The battery was completely dead. Even attempts to use the second battery weren't successful so we hiked to the next highway a few miles away. Luckily a car passed soon after and the driver offered to jump-start the truck. It fired up fine, but we were forced to buy a new battery just about a week before reaching our final destination, Sydney.

Broken Hill has rich deposits of several minerals and the town is not shy to show its wealth. We were surprised at the amenities, even luxuries, it offered. The beautiful old buildings were well maintained and life was bustling. By now, we had gotten used to the small Outback towns that offer not much more than a gas station and a snack bar. Several fascinating national parks protect biological, archeological and historical treasures and we spent a few days exploring them. Mungo National Park is propably the best known although it doesn't receive many visitors due to its isolation. It can only be reached on a sometimes rough dirt road and is famous for its evidence of around 50,000 years of human occupation.

As we were slowly heading back towards the coast, we stopped to visit the 'Dish', the largest radio telescope in the world. It became famous in 1969 for assisting NASA in the landing on the moon and featured in a Hollywood blockbuster on that subject. These telescopes monitor and evaluate sound waves from space and findings are used for scientific purposes.
A few days later we rolled into Sydney, almost exactly six months after the start of our journey. We spent a few days relaxing in Bondi, Manly and some other fabulous parts of this magnificent metropolis. Then we hooked up again with the Sydney Jeep Club who had welcomed us so warmly half a year earlier. The interest in this four-wheeling trip was so high that the trail leader had to put a cap on the attendance. Mark led us into the Blue Mountains two hours west of the city for a scenic and challenging day trip. We had met up on a cold morning; up here, the puddles were covered with a thin layer of ice. In the course of the day, temperatures rose and we enjoyed the many challenges including severe ruts that tested our articulation and deep mudholes that got one rig stuck, all topped with beautiful vistas.

Soon after, we boarded our plane. Our amazing Down Under XXXpedition had come to an end. We enjoyed Australia tremendously and can't stress enough how friendly and welcoming locals are. We experienced the 'no worries' lifestyle through a lot of new friends we made throughout this continent and hope we will be able to return their hospitality one day.


Some Down Under XXXpedition facts
:
Miles traveled: 23,823
Time traveled: 610 hours 31 minutes
Gas cost: AU$ 9,980.10
Repair cost: AU$ 390 (including oil changes)
Most expensive gas: AU$ 2.04/litre (Rabbit Flats Roadhouse - Tanami Track)
Worst Road: Cape Leveque, Western Australia
Deepest water crossing: 41 inches